 A Wright Streetlite in Walsall | |
| Parent | Centrebus Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 2021 |
| Headquarters | Wenlock Way, Leicester |
| Service area | |
| Depots | Delta Way, Cannock |
| Fleet | 50 |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Operator | Centrebus Group |
| Chief executive | Julian Peddle |
| Website | www.chaserider.co.uk |
Chaserider [1] is the brand name for bus services operated around Cannock and Staffordshire by D&G Bus, a local bus operator owned by Centrebus who are based in Adderley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
The Chaserider brand name, which refers to Cannock Chase, was first used by Midland Red from 1977 [2] until 1992.
During November 2020, Centrebus Group subsidiary D&G Bus announced they would be taking over the Cannock depot of Arriva Midlands from the end of January 2021 with operations in Cannock and Stafford running under the revived Chaserider brand. [3]
Chaserider services operate mainly around Cannock and Stafford with some further afield into Wolverhampton. [4] [5]
Since taking over from Arriva Midlands in January 2021, Chaserider have undertaken a number of service reviews including a trial of running buses on Sundays in partnership with Designer Outlet West Midlands from the Pye Green estates, services to Baswich and Lichfield have also been revised or passed to other operators. [6] [7] [8]
Some of the Stafford town centre network inherited from Arriva has been taken over by Select Bus Services. [9]
From June 2021, Chaserider introduced a new service X14 between Cannock, Shifnal, Telford and Oakengates. This had 6 journeys in each direction, but was withdrawn in January 2022 owing to low passenger numbers. [10] [11]
From February 2023, Chaserider began operating subsidised services 102 and 103 along with school services 104 and 105 in the Telford area. Also operated under contract to Telford and Wrekin Council, Chaserider also began to operate service 100 in late 2022. These services utilise a fleet of 6 suitably branded Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 MMCs.
Service 1 which ran between Cannock and Walsall and operated every 20 minutes at its peak was curtailed to operate only between Cheslyn Hay and Cannock from the summer 2022. This was controversial as at the same time National Express cut its competing X51 between Cannock and Walsall (and which continues to Birmingham) to every 30 minutes from 20 minutes between the two towns.
In July 2023, Chaserider commenced operations on behalf of Transport for West Midlands, running services 35A and 36 between Walsall, Aldridge and Lichfield, with an additional service 19 under contract in October 2023 commencing, between Walsall and Bloxwich [12] Due to antisocial behaviour on part of the route of service 19, from 22nd November 2023 Chaserider and TfWM agreed to reroute the service after 4.30pm until further notice. Further antisocial behaviour caused Chaserider to temporarily cancel all journeys on service 19 after 3pm. TfWM arranged for services 23 and 25, operated by Walsall Community Transport, to divert one journey each way to partly cover the cancelled journeys.
Further expansion saw Chaserider replace National Express West Midlands on service service 5 (Wolverhampton to Codsall, evenings and Sundays) from 5th November 2023. Day time journeys are operated by Banga Buses.
As part of the sale to D&G bus, Arriva included 46 vehicles with sale of Cannock depot, since the takeover most of the vehicles have been refurbished into D&G two tone red livery with Chaserider branding alongside some newer additions from within D&G parent company Centrebus Group.
As of June 2022, Centrebus are upgrading the Chaserider fleet with newer vehicles from elsewhere within their operations. [13] [14]
Cannock is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton are also nearby.
Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 26,049 and forms part of Lichfield district. The town forms one of the largest urbanised parishes in England. Samuel Johnson opened an academy in nearby Edial in 1736. The town is home to the smallest park in the UK, Prince's Park, which is located next to Christ Church on the junction of Farewell Lane and Church Road. The town expanded in the nineteenth century around the coal mining industry.
The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.
Shenstone is a village and civil parish in The Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, located between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield. The parish also contains the village of Stonnall.
Great Wyrley is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It forms a built up area with nearby Cheslyn Hay, Churchbridge, Landywood and Little Wyrley. It lies 6 miles north of Walsall and a similar distance from Wolverhampton. Cannock is directly north of the village. It had a population of 11,060 at the 2011 census.
Midland Red was a bus company that operated in The Midlands from 1905 until 1981. It was one of the largest English bus companies, operating over a large area between Gloucester in the south and Derbyshire in the north, and from Northampton to the Welsh border. The company also manufactured buses.
Arriva Midlands East is a bus company operating services in Leicestershire, England. It is a trading division of Arriva Midlands which is a subsidiary of Arriva plc which is itself owned by the government of Germany through Deutsche Bahn.
Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Landywood is a village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Landywood is part of the South Staffordshire ward named "Great Wyrley Landywood", It lies 3 miles north of Bloxwich, 3 miles south from Cannock and 6 miles north of Walsall.
Hednesford railway station serves the town of Hednesford in Staffordshire, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Railway.
Cheslyn Hay is a former mining village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is 3 miles south of Cannock, 10 miles north of Walsall, 9 miles northeast of Wolverhampton, and 13 miles south of Stafford. The village forms a built-up area with the villages and areas of Great Wyrley, Landywood, and Churchbridge.
Diamond Bus Ltd., trading as Diamond West Midlands, and also operating under the West Midlands Bus brand identity, is a bus operator in the West Midlands. It is a subsidiary of Rotala.
Centrebus Limited, trading as Centrebus, is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland.
Team Pennine operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Midland, previously known as Choice Travel, was a bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton and Walsall areas of the West Midlands. Some services also operated in the Staffordshire and Shropshire area.
D&G Bus is a bus operator based in Stoke-on-Trent. They operate local & interurban bus services in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent. D&G Bus is the largest bus operator in Cheshire East & the second-largest in Staffordshire.
Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala.
Centrebus Group, is a public transport company based in Leicester with bus services in the Midlands, North West and South East of England.
Route 62 is a bus route that operates in the United Kingdom between Lichfield and Cannock. It is operated by Chaserider.
Bus operators in the West Midlands | ||
|---|---|---|
| Herefordshire |  | |
| Shropshire | ||
| Staffordshire | ||
| Warwickshire | ||
| Transport for West Midlands | ||
| Worcestershire | ||
| National | ||